Darren -
That was the combo that I used on that fish last week. I got him on a popper, not a jig. The rod has Plenty of backbone - we were in about 160' of water and the fish was straight up and down for most of the fight - no problem lifting him. I'll do more jigging when we get back offshore - right now these fish are inshore and its a sight-fishery.
I also have a couple of the
VS conventional jig rods - I just got them, so I haven't gotten to whack a tuna on one yet, but they have alot more backbone and lifting power than the Shimano's and I have been able to "work" the vertical jigs with them. So far, I've only knocked some Bass on them, and that just didn't seem like a fair fight.
Happy to help.
-Jay